Tag: school tips

To some people, writing is as easy as breathing. They can sit down at their desk, open their laptop, and crank out a fabulous paper. For others, it is not…

To some people, writing is as easy as breathing. They can sit down at their desk, open their laptop, and crank out a fabulous paper. For others, it is not that simple. For those people who aren’t natural born writers, having to write a paper can be miserable! With the end of the semester approaching, there is a lot of paper writing looming. If you are someone who struggles with writing, here are a few tips that have helped me become a better writer.

Stay organized: Once you know the topic you are supposed to write about and have researched it, organize a draft. Diagram out, using bullet points, what information will be in your intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion. This will help you during the writing process to see where you want to put what info so you don’t forget it! Or, if you are writing a blog, once you find your topic, figure out what you want your main points to be so you can focus your paper around them.

Know your audience: Are you writing for a professor? For a group of peers? For a scholarship? Know who you are writing to! Is the paper supposed to be serious? Humorous? Informative? Know the tone of the paper as well. Once you know your audience and tone, you can use your wording in your paper to relate to your audience and communicate your point.

Get feedback: It can be scary asking for feedback, even if it is just from your mom or from a friend, because it could mean rejection or they could have a lot of corrections and make you feel silly. But, the only way to improve is to get feedback about what you could be doing better!

Read!: How are you supposed to know what good writing looks like if you don’t read? Become a reader. It will help you know what style of writing you like best, and will teach you how to become better!

Just like any skill, writing takes practice! Becoming a great writer is not impossible, and it is a great skill to have! You can do it!

I hear my friends saying “How many more days until school is over?” and I bet you do too. But who can blame them? It is almost half way through…

I hear my friends saying “How many more days until school is over?” and I bet you do too. But who can blame them? It is almost half way through the second semester of the school year, and this is what I like to call the “mid-term slump.” It is the part of the year where you feel like you have been in school forevvver and your motivation is seriously lacking. It can even be a bit depressing. Don’t let the slump rule your life, take control! Here are a few ways to overcome it.

Find what isn’t working and change it: If your grades or slipping or you feel like you are losing connection with some of your friends, make a change! Change the way you study, and change the way you stay in touch and stay close to your friends.

Take care of yo-self: When your mind is in 20 different places and when you aren’t feeling motivated, it is easy to put taking care of yourself on the back burner. Don’t do that! Take care of yourself emotionally by writing in a journal or talking to a friend, and take care of yourself physically by taking a study or work break and going on a walk or working out. Keep yourself healthy and feeling good, it will help keep you out of the slump!

Talk to a friend: Let them know how you are feeling. Odds are, they are feeling slump-ish too! Talking about it can help, and you can both try and come up with ways to stay motivated!

Realize it will be over soon: Summer will be here before you know it, I promise. Counting down can sometimes make the time seem like it goes by slower. Quit crossing off the days and just enjoy the moment! These are some of the best days of our lives, so make them count!

I am heading off to college soon (yikes!!), and while I am crazy excited, I am pretty nervous too! I am leaving my friends and family behind (and my dogs,…

I am heading off to college soon (yikes!!), and while I am crazy excited, I am pretty nervous too! I am leaving my friends and family behind (and my dogs, can’t forget them!), and starting a new chapter of my life. I asked a few of my college buds to give me some tips on what they learned their freshman year of college to help me out with the transition. Here are a few things I learned from them.

Don’t bring all of your worldly possessions with you. Your dorm room won’t fit them! There are lots of things you will learn to live without, and you will be so busy with college life that you won’t even notice you left them behind! Things like, oh I don’t know, your entire closet?

Don’t let the freshmen 15 get you. Just because you are away at college and don’t have your mom on your back about eating healthy doesn’t mean you should start eating junk! It will be tempting to eat pizza and chicken tenders 24/7 now that your mom isn’t there to tell you that you can’t, but do yourself a favor and eat healthy. It will keep you from getting sick and keep you in shape. Also, make gym dates with your roomie to help you stay in shape!

Keep in touch with your family: You may live away from home, but that is no excuse to lose touch with your family! Give them a call at least once a week to keep them updated. Your parents, siblings, and even grandparents would love to hear how things are going!

Actually go to class!: So many of my friends tell me that they know a lot of people that barely go to class in college. When school comes to about $50 a class in college, why would you waste that money and skip? It is only a few hours a day. Studies show that those who go to class get higher grades, not surprisingly. Just go to class, dude!

There are so many more college freshmen tips, and I will write about them as college gets closer!

“How many more days until school is over?” I find myself asking my friends this question to my friends wayyyy too much, and I bet you do too. But who…

“How many more days until school is over?” I find myself asking my friends this question to my friends wayyyy too much, and I bet you do too. But who can blame us? It is half way through the second semester of the school year, and this is what I like to call the “mid-term slump.” It is the part of the year where you feel like you have been in school forevvver and your motivation is seriously lacking. It can even be a bit depressing. Don’t let the slump rule your life, take control! Here are a few ways to overcome it.

Find what isn’t working and change it: If your grades or slipping or you feel like you are losing connection with some of your friends, make a change! Change the way you study, and change the way you stay in touch and stay close to your friends.

Take care of yo-self: When your mind is in 20 different places and when you aren’t feeling motivated, it is easy to put taking care of yourself on the back burner. Don’t do that! Take care of yourself emotionally by writing in a journal or talking to a friend, and take care of yourself physically by taking a study or work break and going on a walk or working out. Keep yourself healthy and feeling good, it will help keep you out of the slump!

Talk to a friend: Let them know how you are feeling. Odds are, they are feeling slump-ish too! Talking about it can help, and you can both try and come up with ways to stay motivated!

Realize it will be over soon: Summer will be here before you know it, I promise. Counting down can sometimes make the time seem like it goes by slower. Quit crossing off the days and just enjoy the moment! These are some of the best days of our lives, so make them count!

Studying requires one very important resource. Two words. Power snack. What else can motivate you to plow through those 4 pages of geometry homework? Whether I am studying or editing,…

Studying requires one very important resource. Two words. Power snack. What else can motivate you to plow through those 4 pages of geometry homework? Whether I am studying or editing, I always need a trusty power snack by my side to keep my brain and body fueled. Here are a few of my favs!

Frozen yogurt blueberries: These bite size treats are perfect because they are easy to pop in your mouth and are totally tasty. HERE is the recipe!

Toasted pumpkin seeds: Fall = pumpkins. Pumpkins = an abundance of pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are packed with zinc and boost memory, which just miiiiight give you a bit of a test-cramming advantage. 😉 HERE is the recipe.

Veggies and hummus: I have recently rediscovered my love for hummus. I love dipping baby grape tomatoes and carrots in my hummus! This snack is high in protein so it will give you energy for hours.

Banana hotdogs: Take a wheat tortilla, coat it with almond butter, and wrap a banana inside of it! This snack is easy to transport if you need to take it on the go to the library or a friend’s house for a study sesh, plus the bananas pack lots of energy-boosting carbohydrates!

Like I said earlier, is there any better study motivation than tasty snacks? My guess is no. 😉